Hainan Wanning Riyue Bay International Surfing Festival
November 23-28
Riyue Bay, Wanning, Hainan Hainan Island, China

Wanning, Hainan Island, China, November 24, 2014- The International Surfing Association (ISA) is pleased to announce the winners of the 2014 ISA China Cup.

With strong performances on both the Men and Women’s side, Peru won the Team Gold Medal and the ISA China Cup Team Trophy. Australia placed a close second, earning the Silver Medal, Brazil won the Bronze Medal, and South Africa took the Copper Medal.

In an action-packed heat, Australia’s Nicholas Squiers won the Men’s Gold Medal with a heat total score of 13.93, defeating Silver Medalist, Peru’s Juninho Urcia (11.57), Bronze Medalist, Peru’s Miguel Tudela (11.03) and Copper Medalist, Argentina’s Mariano Arreyes (10.50).

In a dramatic end to the Women’s Final, Australia’s Jessica Grimwood was in the lead with just a few minutes until the final horn, when Peru’s Miluska Tello earned a 6.17 to move up to first place, allowing Tello to take the win, with a total score of 11.83. In second, earning the Silver Medal, came South Africa’s Tanika Hoffman (9.57), in third, earning the Bronze Medal, Australia’s Jessica Grimwood (9.30) and in fourth, earning the Copper Medal, Costa Rica’s Leilani McGonagle (8.50).

“I’m very happy and satisfied with the success of hosting the third annual ISA China Cup. Despite the waves not being the best, the surfers showed amazing surfing skill and provided a great show,” remarked ISA President Fernando Aguerre.

Aguerre continued, “I’m very excited to see the National Chinese Team competing again soon at an ISA World Championship. The opportunities for surfing’s development in China are endless. Congratulations to each member of the participating National Surfing Teams for coming to China and to all medalists. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to our welcoming hosts, the people and government of China, to our great partners at Beijing Womei Media, and all of the sponsors for joining us in this great competition.”

Men’s Gold Medalist, Nicholas Squiers was thrilled to win and commented:

“It’s one thing to surf for yourself, but to have your country’s emblem in your chest is another thing. You got all your teammates to support you for the heat, and that just gives you more drive. It’s such a beautiful spot here, the water is warm and although the waves are small, it’s a lot of fun. I’ve never been here so it has opened my eyes to another place in the world, it’s fantastic. I’m glad to be here and take the win.

Women’s Gold Medalist, Miluska Tello was ecstatic about her win and commented:

“I’m very happy because last year I made it to the Repechage Final and finished in fifth place. This has happened several times that I get eliminated in the Repechage Finals. This time I got the opportunity to reach the Final and win, just like Anali (Gomez) did. We got rid of our bad streak of always losing in the Repechage Finals, Anali is the World Champion and I won this important event.

The conclusion of the ISA China Cup marks the start of the Hainan Classic, Men’s 4-Star ASP Qualifying Series event. On Tuesday, November 25, competition will resume with he start of the second part of the Hainan Wanning Riyue Bay International Surfing Festival. With a prize purse of $95,000 US, the competition will feature an international field of surfers, including 12 Chinese, by far the most ever in the history of any international surfing competition. This is a testimony to the success the ISA is already having in the short term to fulfilling its mission to develop global surfing, and to developing surfing in China.

Official Forecaster, Surfline, has predicted Small, fading ENE windswell with the surf mainly 2-3ft, knee-waist high with inconsistent sets to around stomach high around favorable tides.

Final ISA China Cup Team Rankings:

1. 1- Peru- 13,378
2. 2- Australia- 13,232
3. 3- Brazil- 9,766
4. 4- South Africa- 9,760
5. 5- Argentina- 9,270
6. 6- Costa Rica- 8,910
7. 7- Panama 7,640
8. 8- China 7,140

Hainan Wanning Riyue Bay International Surfing Festival
November 23-28, 2014
Riyue Bay, Wanning, Hainan Island, China

Wanning, Hainan Island, China, November 23, 2014- The opening day of the ISA China Cup was a historic moment for the global development of Surfing as China competed for the first time in ISA history.

The 8 participating National Surfing Teams: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru and South Africa, along with their 48 surfers, traveled from every corner of the globe to compete for Gold. All the surfers have gathered in tropical Wanning, on Hainan Island in the South China Sea, for the third annual event.

The surfers faced challenging conditions on the opening day of the ISA China Cup at the left point break Riyue Bay. As predicted by Surfline, the official forecaster of the event, the surf was in the 2-3ft range. Despite the scattered showers throughout the day, the conditions remained glassy and contestable all day long.

“Today was a historic day for surfing, as the first ever Chinese National Team to compete at an ISA competition faced the top seven surfing countries in the world. This moment truly shows how Surfing is developing globally and especially in China,” remarked ISA President Fernando Aguerre. “The world’s best surfers showed today they can perform at a very high level even in challenging surfing conditions. Tomorrow is the Final Day of the ISA China Cup, and I am certain it will be an exciting race to the Gold Medal and the ISA China Cup Trophy.”

The day kicked off with a memorable Welcoming Ceremony featuring the eight participating countries. A member from each country went up on stage carrying their National Flag as the Mayor of the City of Wanning Mr. Zhang and ISA Director General Liam Ferguson welcomed all of the surfers to China.

On Day 1 of the ISA China Cup, Australia’s Kai Hing delivered the highest scoring performance in the Men’s division. Hing, in his Round 2 heat managed to overcome the challenging conditions and earned a 9.00 and 8.17 for an impressive total heat score of 17.17. The Australian defeated Peru’s Lucca Messinas (11.34), and South Africa’s Casey Grant (9.50) and Davey Brand (7.33).

On the Women’s side the best surfer of the day was Codie Klein, also from Australia, who is leading the way towards tomorrow’s Women Grand Final. During her Round 1 heat, Klein earned the two highest single waves scores in the Women’s draw of 8.17 and 7.00. The Australian dominated her heat and defeated the defending ISA 50th Anniversary World Surfing Games Women’s Gold Medalist, Anali Gomez (8.90) from Peru, Costa Rica’s Lisbeth Vindas (6.60) and Argentina’s Lucia Indurain (5.90).

Monday is the final day of the 2-day ISA China Cup. Individual Men and Women’s Gold Medals will be determined. South Africa, Australia, Peru, Brazil, and Costa Rica still have all of their athletes in contention and are still in the hunt for the Team Gold Medal and the 2014 ISA China Cup.

Argentina is sitting in 6th place, Panama in 7th, and unfortunately for the local Chinese team, despite a solid effort they have lost all of their athletes and will finish in 8th place.

Official Forecaster, Surfline, has predicted for Monday, small to fun-size ENE windswell with a slight reinforcements early, then eases throughout the day. Inconsistent surf going 2-3’+, mainly knee-waist high with occasional stomach high sets around favorable tides. NE winds are light to moderate (5-13kt) in the morning, trending ENE through the afternoon.

The Hainan Wanning Riyue Bay International Surfing Festival resumes tomorrow at 7:40am with The Morning Show hosted by Mike Latronic, who will be joined by Team China.

For a full list of today’s results, click here- http://hainaninternationalsurfingfestival.com/china-cup/results/

Watch the Final Day of the ISA China Cup on the live webcast tomorrow- http://hainaninternationalsurfingfestival.com/china-cup/live/

Here is the schedule for the Final Day of the ISA China Cup live webcast:
Sunday, 7:40am China
Sunday, 10:40am Sydney, Australia
Sunday, 1:40am South Africa
Sunday 12:40am, Western Europe
Saturday, 3:40pm West Coast USA
Saturday, 5:40pm Costa Rica
Saturday, 6:40pm Panama/Peru
Saturday, 8:40pm Argentina
Saturday, 9:40pm Brazil

The ISA’s 2014 Hainan Wanning Riyue Bay International Surfing Festival will kick-off on Sunday, November 23. During the first two days of competition, the ISA China Cup will feature the top 7 surfing countries plus the local Chinese team, who will be competing for the first time in ISA history.

The eight countries competing for the Team Champion trophy are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru and South Africa. Further down is a list of all of the registered athletes who will be representing their nation and will compete for the individual Men’s and Women’s Gold Medals.

Following the ISA China Cup, from November 25-28 will be the Hainan Classic, Men’s 4-star ASP Qualifying Series event, where the best surfers from around the world will compete for a total prize purse of $95,000 USD and valuable points that count towards the ASP Men’s Qualifying Series Ranking.

“The Hainan Wanning Riyue Bay International Surfing Festival will start tomorrow,” remarked ISA President Fernando Aguerre. “All eight National Teams have arrived and settled in at the Official Hotel in the beautiful city of Wanning. This will be a historic moment for the country of China as they will be fielding the first ever Chinese team to compete at an ISA competition.”

Aguerre continued, “With the ISA China Cup beginning on Sunday, all the athletes are excited and ready to compete for the Individual and Team Gold Medals. As I like to remind all of the surfers , some of you will go home with medals and others will not, but all of you are champions for competing for your National Teams at the ISA China Cup.”

The Hainan Wanning Riyue Bay International Surfing Festival will be available to view on the live webcast at www.hainaninternationalsurfingfestival.com

List of National Teams and Athletes:

Argentina
Men:
Mariano Arreyes
Francisco Usuna
Joaquin Quimey Juarez
Nahuel Pablo Amalfitano

Women:
Lucia Indurain
Lucia Cosoleto

Official:
Juan Marcos Baldino

Australia
Men:
Kai Hing
Luke Hynd
Nic Squiers
Tim Mcdonald

Women:
Codie Klein
Jessica Grimwood

Official:
Clancy Dawson

Brazil
Men:
Deivid da Silva
Renato Glavao Princerni
Elivelton Santos Da Silva
Luan Wood

Women:
Camila Santos-Oliveira
Luana Coutinho-dos-Santos

Official:
Bruno Galini Ramos

Costa Rica
Men:
Luis Javier Vindas
Jair Perez Quiros
Maykol Torres
Gilbert Brown

Women:
Lisbeth Vindas
Leilani McGonagle
Official:
Sean McGonagle

China
Men:
Tie “TZ” Zhuang
Liang Zang
Pablo Huang
Jingsen Xu

Women:
Jiarui Yang
Xue Yang

Officials:
Peter Townend
Qing Liu
Zhongyi Li
Xupin Bao
Glenn Brumage
Xaingjun Meng
Bing Liang
Xiangwei Yang
Nik Zanella

Panama
Men:
Jean Carlos Gonzalez
Gary Saavedra
Alejandro Alfonso
Roberto Diaz

Women:
Johanny Alfonso
Enilda Alonso

Official:
Raul Stanford

Peru
Men:
Juninho Urcia
Miguel Tudela
Sebastian Alarcon
Lucca Mesinas

Women:
Miluska Tello
Anali Gomez

Official:
Gabriel Aramburu

South Africa
Men:
Michael February
Charles Brand
Casey Grant
Dylan Lightfoot

Women:
Tanika Hoffman
Faye Zoetmulder

Official:
Etienne Venter

Here is the schedule for the ISA China Cup live webcast:
Sunday, 8am China
Sunday, 11am Sydney, Australia
Sunday, 2am South Africa
Sunday 1am, Western Europe
Saturday, 4pm West Coast USA
Saturday, 6pm Costa Rica
Saturday, 7pm Panama/Peru
Saturday, 9pm Argentina
Saturday, 10pm Brazil

ISA China Cup/Hainan Classic Official Forecast
Updated: Monday Morning, November 24 (Local Wanning Time)

BRIEF OVERVIEW:Small but rideable ENE windswell continues today. A trend towards smaller ENE windswell is expected through the middle of the week. A minor increase in ENE windswell is expected by Friday.

MONDAY 24th: Small to fun-size ENE windswell
SWELL/SURF: Inconsistent surf going 2-3’+ ENE windswell. Mainly knee-waist high with occasional stomach/chest high sets around favorable tides.
WIND: NE winds are light to moderate (5-13kt) in the morning, trending ENE through the afternoon.

TUESDAY 25th: Small, fading ENE windswell
SWELL/SURF: Mainly 2-3’/knee-waist high surf with inconsistent sets to around stomach high around favorable tides. WIND: NE winds are light (5-11kt) in the morning, trending ENE through the afternoon. 

WEDNESDAY 26th: Small, fading ENE windswell
SWELL/SURF: 1-2’/Knee-thigh high surf with occasional waist high sets around favorable tides.
WIND: NE winds are light (4-9kt) in the morning, trending ENE/E through the afternoon.

THURSDAY 27th: Small ENE windswell, modest increase late
SWELL/SURF: Small 1-2’ (knee-thigh high) with inconsistent waist high sets around favorable tides. A little more size developing late in the day.
WIND: Light and variable winds in the morning trend ESE and pick up to 4-8kts through the afternoon.

FRIDAY 28th: Minor increase in ENE windswell
SWELL/SURF: 2-3’+ ENE windswell. Mainly thigh to waist high surf expected with sets to around stomach high.
WIND: Light NE winds 5-11kts in the morning trend ENE in the afternoon

SWELL/SURF OUTLOOK

Recent satellite wind observations have revealed an area of 20-30kt NE/ENE winds over the South China Sea waters just NW and W of the Philippines. However, these winds are expected to diminish over the next 24-36 hours as high pressure weakens N/NE of the area. As a result, small-fun sized ENE windswell will continue for the ISA China Cup on Monday, before the surf gradually eases through Tuesday and Wednesday.

Computer models are showing occasional spurts of 20-25kt NE/ENE winds in our swell window in the South China Sea later Wednesday through early Friday, but the duration of these winds doesn’t look very impressive. As such, the surf we’re expecting only a modest increase in ENE windswell late Thursday through Friday.

Note: Some of the computer models have been showing a low end tropical system moving west of the Philippines and approaching Vietnam Thursday through Saturday. There is no consensus in the various models on this feature, and we thus have very little — if any — confidence on its potential SE swell heading into the weekend. Please stay tuned for updates, but at this point a tropical ESE/SE swell before the end of the event appears unlikely.

WIND/WEATHER 

Light to moderate (5-13kt) NE winds will blow during the morning hours today before trending more ENE into the afternoon. Similar to slightly lighter winds continue through midweek. At this point, we are expecting light and variable winds Thursday morning to trend ESE into the afternoon. Light NNE/NE trending ENE winds are forecast for Friday.

A slight chance (20%) of showers is expected today and Tuesday. Better chances (30-40%) for showers expected Wednesday and Thursday. The best chances for rain over the next few days will be in the afternoons/early evenings. Note that showers can impact local winds and conditions at times.

Next Update: Wednesday November 26 (Local Wanning Time).

-Mark Willis @MWillisSurfline

As the opening event of the International Surfing Festival from November 23-24, the ISA China Cup will feature the top seven surfing countries based on the results from the 2013 REEF ISA World Surfing Games held in Santa Catalina, Panama, plus the addition of the national Chinese team, who will be competing for the first time in ISA history.

Following the ISA China Cup, from November 25-28, will be the Hainan Classic, Men’s 4-star ASP Qualifying Series event, where the best professional surfers from around the world will compete for a total prize purse of $95,000 USD and valuable points that count towards the ASP Men’s Qualifying Series Ranking.

The ten things you need to know about the Hainan Wanning Riyue Bay International Surfing Festival are:

1. The Event

The Hainan Wanning Riyue Bay International Surfing Festival consists of two competitions:

ISA China Cup is taking place November 23 to 24. The Hainan Classic, Men’s 4-star ASP Qualifying Series event is taking place November 25 to 28. Both competitions will take place at the world-class left point break of Riyue bay in the city of Wanning, on Hainan Island, China.

2. The Competitions

The invitation-only ISA China Cup features the top seven surfing countries in the world plus the addition of the national Chinese team. Each National Team will include their country’s best four men and two women shortboarders, who will compete for Team and Individual Gold Medals and the honor of representing their nations.

The Hainan Classic will gather a field of up to 96 athletes, including a number of local Chinese surfers.

3. Historic Event For China

The ISA has confirmed that a Chinese team will compete in the ISA China Cup for the first time ever in the ISA’s 50-year history, highlighting the growth of Surfing in the country. This is a groundbreaking moment for the development of surfing in China and the ISA’s mission of developing surfing globally.

The other seven invited National Teams are:

South Africa
Australia
Peru
Brazil
Panama
Costa Rica
Argentina

4. Past Champions

Team Australia is the defending two-time winner of the Team Gold Medal at the first two editions of the ISA China Cup in 2013 and 2012.

Past individual champions include Philippa Anderson of Australia, who won the Open Women’s Gold Medal in 2013 and Peru’s Sofia Mulanovich in 2012. In the Open Men’s, Michael Rodriguez from Brazil won Gold in 2013 and Australia’s Heath Joske in 2012.

Brazilian Caio Ibelli was crowned winner of the Hainan Classic in January, 2013. His victorious start to the year set him up for his best ASP season ever last year. In 2012, Irishman Glenn Hall was crowned winner of the event. His early season win set him up to qualify for a spot in the 2013 ASP World Championship Tour.

5. The Mission

The ISA’s mission is to develop the sport of surfing around the world. Between the thousands of miles of coastline and over a billion people, the development of surfing in China has great potential. The ISA has partnered with Beijing Womei Advertising, the China National Water Sports Association, the Hainan Culture and Sports Department and the Wanning Sports Bureau, who are all working together for a better surfing future.

6. The Numbers

More than 200 million people followed the 2013 Hainan Wanning Riyue Bay International Surfing Festival online, in print and on TV. The third edition of the event is set to be another historic moment that will further spread the core values of Surfing to new audiences all over the world.

The ISA China Cup teams will include:

4 Men
2 Women
1 Team Official (coaches/team managers)

The Hainan Classic will have a maximum of 96 competitors from around the world.

7. The Schedule

The Hainan Wanning Riyue Bay International Surfing Festival will officially open on November 23 with the ISA China Cup.

Full schedule below:

Nov. 23 – ISA China Cup competition begins
Nov. 24 – ISA China Cup Final Day and Awards Ceremony
Nov. 25 – Hainan Classic competition begins
Nov. 26-27 – Hainan Classic competition days
Nov. 28 – Hainan Classic Finals and Awards Ceremony

8. The Break

The event is taking place in the world’s most populous country, with over 1.3 billion people and more than 9,000 miles of coastline. Riyue Bay is located on the southeast side of Hainan Island, about 20-30 minutes from the center of Wanning City, China.

Respected surf forecaster Sean Collins, Founder and former President of Surfline.com, was responsible for identifying China’s most consistent and dependable surf spot for a major international surfing competition. After the research that took him over three months to analyze, and included a 10 day visit to China, Collins who has since passed away, recommended Riyue Bay.

9. The Surf Forecast

Surfline, the official forecaster of the event has predicted small but rideable ENE windswell for the opening days of competition, November 23-24. Small surf is expected to persist going into early next week. Winds and conditions are expected to be most favorable during the morning hours as we head into the weekend.

At this point, the surf looks to be mainly in the 2-3’ (thigh-waist high) zone for the Riyue Bay region over the weekend with bigger sets up to stomach/chest high especially at spots more exposed to ENE swell.

Looking further ahead, fairly small ENE windswell is currently expected to continue going into early next week.

10. The ISA’s 50th Anniversary

2014 marks the celebration of the ISA’s 50 year anniversary, which has been crowning Men’s and Women’s World Surfing Champions since 1964. The ISA began as an organization created to organize world surfing championships and to crown the world’s best surfers as World Champions.

After 50 years since its inception, the ISA counts with 91 member National Federations. The ISA is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the World’s Governing Authority for Surfing, StandUP Paddle Surfing and Racing and all other wave riding activities.

The International Surfing Association (ISA) is proud to announce the ISA’s third annual Hainan Wanning Riyue Bay International Surfing Festival, in Wanning, Hainan Island, China this coming November 23 – 28. The weeklong festival, features two surfing events: the ISA China Cup, a National Team competition, and the Hainan Classic, a Men’s 4-star ASP Qualifying Series event. It’s also the first time China will compete with its own team in the ISA China Cup and in ISA history.

“I am very happy and proud to bring the ISA back to China after two successful Hainan Wanning Riyue Bay International Surfing Festivals,” said ISA President Fernando Aguerre. “Thanks to our partners at Womei Media, led by CEO, Mr. Yang Dunhao, who delivered all of the financial and political resources to help ensure the event. This will be the most important global surfing festival in 2014.”

Aguerre continued, “For an entire week, this coming November, China will become the surfing capital of the world. The opportunities for the development of surfing in China are quite impressive. With China’s National Team competing in the ISA China Cup for the first time in its history this year, as well as the return of this incredibly successful global event, we will continue to boost China’s surfing status to a new level.”

From November 23 – 24, the invitation-only ISA China Cup features the top seven surfing nations in the world based on the National Team results from the 2013 REEF ISA World Surfing Games held in May, 2013, in Santa Catalina, Panama, plus the addition of the national Chinese team.

The eight invited National Teams include: South Africa, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Panama, Costa Rica, Argentina, and for the first time ever, China. Each National Team will include their country’s best four men and two women shortboarders, who will compete for Team and Individual Gold Medals and the honor of representing their nations.

Team Australia, the two-time winners of Team Gold Medal at the ISA China Cup in 2013 and 2012 is the National Team to watch. Past individual champs include Philippa Anderson of Australia, who won the Open Women’s Gold Medal in 2013 and Peru’s Sofia Mulanovich in 2012. In the Open Men’s, Michael Rodriguez of Brazil, won Gold in 2013 and Aussie Heath Joske in 2012.

Following the completion of the ISA China Cup, the International Surfing Festival will continue with the Hainan Classic from November 25 – 28, which the ISA has confirmed will have a Men’s 4-Star ASP Qualifying Series event rating, with a total prize purse of $95,000 USD. This historic competition will be the third ASP event in China, produced by the ISA, and counts towards ASP Men’s Qualifying Series Ranking. Brazilian Caio Ibelli was crowned winner of the Hainan Classic in January, 2013. His victorious start to the year set him up for his best ASP season ever last year. In 2012, Irishman Glenn Hall was crowned winner of the event. His early season win set him up to qualify for a spot in the 2013 ASP World Championship Tour. The ISA is expecting a field of 96 athletes, including a number of local Chinese surfers.

“The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is excited to once again be working with the ISA and Womei Media to offer a fantastic opportunity in the back part of this year for Chinese, greater Asia and the International surfers, who will compete, to gain valuable ASP Qualifying Series (QS) ranking points and prize money to help setup their 2015 campaigns to qualify for the ASP World Championship Tour (WCT),” said ASP Australasia General Manager Dane Jordan.

Jordan continued, “The waves at Riyuewan are world class on their day and this event will give local Chinese surfers the chance to build up some ranking points and test themselves against some seasoned competitive surfers and the best upcoming juniors from around the world.”

The ISA selected the left point break at Riyue Bay on Hainan Island off the coast of southeast China, after consulting with the late Sean Collins, legendary founder and President of Surfline (www.surfline.com). Collins was considered the world’s most prestigious surf forecaster. He conducted a historical analysis of the surf along the east coast of Hainan, and after visiting the Island in March 2011 he reported that Riyue Bay held the best opportunity for world-class waves and the ISA events. What Sean Collins said was confirmed months later, when the world’s best surfers arrived to China and were introduced to a land with a perfect left pointbreak, which held barreling overhead waves that broke for ten straight days during the 2012 competition.

With a global media audience of more than 200 million who followed the 2013 ISA China Cup and Hainan Classic online, in print and on TV, China was introduced to the surfing world in all its glory. The third edition of the Hainan Wanning Riyue Bay International Surfing Festival will be a historic event, as a result of the combined efforts of the ISA, its partner in China, Womei Media, the Governments of Hainan Island and the City of Wanning.